―― まえがき ――
ＷＥＢ絵本『猿と猫と鼠』
絵・訳：茜町春彦
原作：柳田国男
概要：昔話を絵本にしました．原作は日本の昔話（新潮文庫）の中の1編です．英語に翻訳しております．
A Japanese folk tale
Title: "Monkeys and a Cat and a Mouse"
Illustrated and translated by: Akanemachi Haruhiko.
Original author: Yanagida Kunio
―― ０１ ――
Once upon a time in a place, there lived an Old Man and an Old Woman.
昔々ある所に、爺と婆とがありました．
―― ０２ ――
The Old Woman diligently wove cloth from cottom.
婆は精出して木綿を織ると・・・
―― ０３ ――
And, the Old Man wrapped the cloth in a wrapping sheet.
He carried and peddled them at various towns.
・・・それを爺が風呂敷に入れて方々の町を売り歩いていました．
―― ０４ ――
One day, the Old Man went to sell the cloth as usual.
或る日、爺は木綿を売りに出て・・・
―― ０５ ――
And, he came back alone through a mountain path.
・・・1人で山路を帰って来ると・・・
―― ０６ ――
Just then, a hunter aimed a rifle at a big Female Monkey on a tree of a distant hill.
・・・遥か向うの山の木に大きな雌猿がいるのを猟師が鉄砲を持って撃とうとしておりました．
―― ０７ ――
The Female Monkey put her hands together. It appeared that she was asking for the hunter's pardon.
雌猿は手を合わせて、こらえてくれと云う様子をして拝んでおりました．
―― ０８ ――
The Old Man felt a pity for her.
And, he got close to the hunter to try to stop him.
可哀想な事をすると思って止めに行きますと・・・
―― ０９ ――
The hunter fired at the target but missed.
The Old Man was shot in the shoulder.
・・・思わず鉄砲が反れて爺は肩先を撃たれました．
―― １０ ――
The hunter thought that he had done an awful thing.
And, he ran away.
猟師はトンだ事をしたと思って逃げてしまいました．
―― １１ ――
Then, many young monkeys appeared from nowhere.
And, they took care of the Old Man earnestly.
そうすると、何処からともなく多くの子猿が現れて、一生懸命に介抱をしてくれました．
―― １２ ――
After that, the monkeys took the Old Man to their house.
そうして猿の家へ連れて行って・・・
―― １３ ――
And, they entertained him.
・・・大層な御馳走をしたそうです．
―― １４ ――
"My wife is anxious about me. I must be going now," the Old Man said.
Then, the monkeys gave him their treasure as a token of their gratitude.
"This coin is called as the Monkey's Penny. It is the most precious thing in the world. You saved my life. And so, I would present it to you. Worshiping this coin will make you rich," she said.
What she said was true.
婆が心配しているから、もう帰ると言いますと、猿たちが御礼に宝物をくれました．
これは猿の一文銭と云って世にも大切な宝物ですが、命の親様に差し上げます．これを祀っておくと金持ちになります．
本当にお猿が言った通りでありました．
―― １５ ――
The Old Man returned back without sales of the cloth in spite of the year's end.
家では婆が年の暮れだというのに、木綿も売らずに爺が帰って来たので・・・
―― １６ ――
And so, the Old Woman got angry very much.
・・・散々に怒りましたけれども・・・
―― １７ ――
But, by the powers of the Monkey's Penny, they became rich soon.
・・・猿の一文銭の御蔭で僅かな間に金持ちになりました．
―― １８ ――
However, a wicked man lived in the neighborhood.
He heard about the reason they had suddenly become rich.
ところが近所によくない人があって、急に爺婆が金持ちになった訳を聞いて・・・
―― １９ ――
And, the wicked man stole the treasure stealthily.
・・・知らぬ間に、その宝物を盗んでしまいました．
―― ２０ ――
The Old Man and the Old Woman surprisedly looked everywhere for the treasure.
But, they couldn't find it.
爺と婆とはビックリして方々尋ねて見ましたが、どうしても在りかが知れません．
―― ２１ ――
They had a cat.
And then, the Old Man called the cat. Its name was Tama.
"Hey, Tama! Find the Monkey's Penny within three days! If you find it, I will give you a reward. If you don't find it, this will talk," he said.
そこで家に飼っている玉という猫を呼んで、玉よ、猿の一文銭を３日の内に探し出して来い．探して来てくれたら御褒美だ．探し出さなければ、これだと言って・・・
―― ２２ ――
And, he drew and showed a shiny knife.
・・・光る短刀を抜いて見せました．
―― ２３ ――
As soon as the Cat heard his order, it rushed out of the house.
And, the Cat caught a Mouse.
猫はこれを聞いて直ぐに飛び出して、１匹の鼠を捕まえて・・・
―― ２４ ――
"Hey, Mouse! My master's treasure was lost. Find it within three days! If you find it, I will forgive you. If you don't find it, I will eat you to the last tail," the Cat said.
・・・言って聴かせました．
鼠よ、うちの爺様の宝物がなくなった．３日の内に見付けて来い．見付けて来るならば助けて遣る．もし見付けないと尻尾まで食べてしまうよ、と言いました．
―― ２５ ――
The Mouse was fearful of being eaten.
So, in the three days, it was looking for the Monkey's Penny around the neighborhood.
鼠は食べられると大変だから３日の間、近所の家々をまわって猿の一文銭を探しました．
―― ２６ ――
At last, the Mouse found the treasure in a cabinet of the house of the next-door wicked man.
It gnawed a hole through the drawer.
And, it got the treasure out .
そうして、終いに隣の悪者の家のタンスの中にあるのを見つけて、引き出しをかじって、それを取り出し持って来て・・・
―― ２７ ――
The Mouse carried and passed it to Tama.
・・・玉に渡しました．
―― ２８ ――
Tama gladly held the treasure in its mouth.
And Tama passed it to the Old Man.
玉は喜んで、それを咥えて爺様に渡しました．
―― ２９ ――
The Old Man, the Old Woman, Tama and the Mouse were joyful together and lived prosperously ever after.
Everybody was happy.
(Inaba Province)
爺も婆も猫の玉も鼠も共々に大喜びで、皆が皆いつ迄も繁昌しました．めでたしめでたし．
（因幡）
―― あとがき ――
英訳文を修正しました．（2018年6月27日）
この本はパブーで公開した電子書籍、英訳昔話「猿と猫と鼠」を加筆修正したものです．
参考文献：日本の昔話（柳田国男著 新潮文庫 2006年10月25日36刷）
